Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic cut short a trip to the United States after suddenly falling ill, his office said Saturday.
He was admitted to the Military Medical Academy (MMA) in Belgrade immediately after returning to Serbia, public broadcaster RTS reported.
He was met there by his Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar and the the head of the military health department, Dr Dragan Dincic.
Vucic in stable condition
Later on Saturday, Dincic told a press conference that Vucic’s condition was stable, according to RTS.
“I cannot discuss the details, but during his stay in America, the president felt severe chest pain,” Dincic said, adding that Vucic, 55, has had similar issues related to high blood pressure on three prior occasions.
Dincic also said that the Serbian leader was expected to leave the MMA shortly, but that “it is certainly not realistic” to expect him to “fully return to his regular activities in the next few days.”
Vucic suddenly fell ill after meeting with US Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevic, as well as Serbian entrepreneurs in the US, according to RTS.
He was with Serbian Finance Minister Finance Minister Sinisa Mali and presidential media advisor Suzana Vasiljevic preparing for upcoming meetings when he started feeling unwell.
After consulting doctors in Florida, he decided to cut short the trip and return to the Balkan country.
What was Vucic doing in Florida?
Vucic had traveled to Miami, south Florida, where he had met with disgraced former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani was disbarred over his role in Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election — which his predecessor Joe Biden won — was stolen or rigged.
Vucic had also said he hoped to meet with Trump during his trip. The US president spends much of his time at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, an upscale town north of Miami.
It is unclear whether the Serbian leader will be able to travel to Russia to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9.
Vucic had said he hoped to attend the commemoration of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II despite warnings from the European Union that the trip could jeopardize Serbia’s bid to join the bloc.
A right-wing populist, Vucic has refused to join Western sanctions against the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine.
He has also been facing mounting pressure on the domestic front after months of massive, mostly student-led anti-corruption protests in Serbia in the wake of a roof collapse at a train station that killed 16 people.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
